Munich – 9th July, 2013

Industry pioneers partner to establish first summit devoted to B2B e-commerce strategies on October 28-29 in Berlin

hybris, the world’s fastest-growing commerce platform provider ranked “leader” by both principal analyst firms, today announced the “Game Plan” B2B E-Commerce Forum, taking place October 28-29 in Berlin. hybris – along with co-founders arvato Systems and OpenText - established the inaugural global series of forums for wholesalers, distributors, branded manufacturers, and other B2B companies currently facing a major transformation in the advent of omni-channel commerce.

“With e-commerce in Europe worth € 300 billion in 2012, and with growth estimated at between 15 to 30% in 2013*, B2B suppliers are eager to learn more efficient online selling strategies. They are struggling, however, to find forums and conferences that center around this topic,” said Brian Walker, Senior Vice President Strategy at hybris. “Game Plan addresses a gap in the marketplace as the first conference to provide wholesalers, distributors, branded manufacturers, and those on the frontlines of the B2B marketplace access to not only industry leaders, but also tools and data to help them accelerate their businesses – and the industry – forward.”

At the forum series, which will span three continents, Forrester Research will reveal the results of a global study focused on the state of B2B e-commerce and the key trends and issues facing the industry. Andy Hoar, Senior eBusiness Analyst at Forrester Research and one of the most widely recognized experts on B2B e-commerce, will present the results around questions manufacturers and distributors must understand to navigate the growing e-commerce market. According to Brian Walker, if B2B brands don’t address these issues and evaluate their current commerce practices, they will find it difficult to take full advantage of the disruptive opportunities that the Web and mobile represent.

“Business-to-business buyers are used to the same seamless online, mobile and omni-channel practices provided by B2C retailers, and they’re beginning to demand the same high quality experiences from their B2B suppliers,” said Brian Walker. “Through our research, we found that most B2B brands still don’t offer basic e-commerce capabilities, such as rich online product content, order management or personalization.”

To address these issues and help manufacturers and distributors take advantage of the large opportunity that exists with e-commerce, Game Plan will include sessions and panels on:

Reinventing your business with e-commerce and mobile

Path to profitability - the challenge and how we did it

Inside the mind of the B2B customer: What they really want from e-commerce and the omni-channel experience

In addition to hearing from speakers on the frontlines of the changing B2B e-commerce landscape, distributors and manufacturers will have the opportunity to network with other executives, leaders and strategists from industry-leading brands.